Chapter 119 – Similar Dilemmas
"—Hahahahaha!!"
Frieren burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she rolled across the grass right in front of Robin.
"Cutting clouds… into the shape of a chrysanthemum with a sword? Is Elias messing with you?! That kind of training is ridiculous!"
"If only it were a joke."
Robin replied in a dull voice,
"Lord Elias even expects it to be as precise as sculpture… It's just…"
He trailed off.
Seeing his dejected expression, Frieren's laughter slowly faded.
"…Figures."
"Teacher Flamme is making me block attacks using the absolute minimum amount of mana."
"It seems our training is the exact opposite… yet the predicament is the same."
Robin looked up at her.
"Precision in attack and precision in defense, huh?"
"But as opponents, is it really okay for us to say all this out loud?"
Frieren brushed the dirt off her hands.
"At least it keeps things fair for both of us."
She stood and looked up at the sky.
A dark cloud drifted across the night, covering the full moon.
"Speaking of which… shaping clouds is actually quite easy for a mage."
She summoned her staff and pointed toward the cloud veiling the moon.
—Whoosh!
A slicing spell split the cloud cleanly apart, revealing a perfectly round moonlight disk in the sky.
"W–What?!"
Robin froze, then stood and stared upward, tracing the edges of the parted cloud again and again.
"That's… a perfect circle…"
"Frieren… I trained for two months and couldn't manage it, and you just…"
"Because I'm a mage~"
Frieren replied playfully.
"Clouds already have shape. Imagining a circle isn't hard."
"Mana flows continuously. So you don't need to fixate on the target itself—just lock in the form at the moment you release your spell."
Robin fell silent.
He realized he had been overly focused on the cloud itself. Day after day, exhaustion had subtly warped his swing.
In truth, the result had already been decided the instant he began the motion.
He remembered Elias's words—
An overly grand objective drains your focus like a leech.
"So that's it…"
"I get it! I finally get it!"
Seeing Robin suddenly light up with excitement, Frieren narrowed her eyes, visibly unsettled.
"No way…"
"One careless remark from me… and you just had an epiphany?!"
"Damn it!!"
"You're supposed to be my opponent! This stupid mouth of mine—ugh!"
Frieren clutched her head in frustration, failing to notice Robin walking toward her.
"Hey, Frieren."
She looked up at his voice. Robin's brows were tightly knit.
"This really isn't fair."
"So tell me about your problem too. Maybe I can help."
Frieren's expression turned wary.
"You? Someone who doesn't even understand mana—what kind of help could you possibly offer?"
"You're not trying to take advantage of me and pry something out of me, are you?"
Robin let out a dry laugh.
"Honestly, Frieren. Believe it or not, I just want a fair match."
"You accidentally gave me insight. I'm not going to win by exploiting that."
She studied his eyes. The puffed-up irritation on her face slowly deflated.
"…Fine."
"My problem is a modular defensive spell. It can freely combine and assemble into whatever shape is needed to absorb an attack."
"What?!"
Just hearing the description made Robin exclaim.
"Magic can be that flexible?"
"Of course~ It's a brand-new spell Teacher Flamme developed."
Frieren summoned a single hexagonal rune in the air.
"This is the smallest unit. My task is to use the fewest units possible to perfectly block an attack."
"So what's the issue?"
Frieren took a deep breath.
"I'm not confident enough."
"I always end up creating extra panels to guarantee absolute safety."
"…So you're afraid of getting hurt."
Robin's bluntness made her hesitate.
"The problem is… getting injured in battle… isn't that terrifying?"
"Sometimes even a small wound can cost you your life."
"That's not how it works!"
Robin suddenly pulled open his collar.
Frieren shrieked and spun around.
"Ahhh! Robin, you pervert! Showing your true colors again?!"
"Hey, what are you talking about? I'm showing you my scars."
She froze.
Slowly, stiffly, she turned her head back toward his chest.
"…These are all…"
"Scars from my battles."
Robin smiled lightly.
"Getting hurt is scary. But a lot of times, getting hurt is how I turned defeat into victory."
"For a warrior, there's no such thing as a perfect battle. If you want to win, injury is something you must accept."
Frieren fell silent.
But something had already changed inside her.
---
The next day—
Robin stood atop the mountain, staring at the sky.
When a layered cloud drifted into place, he raised his greatsword—
—and closed his eyes.
Slash—whirl—cut—cut—
When he opened them again, white petals bloomed across the sky.
He wiped the sweat from his brow.
On the other side—
Frieren melted the frozen waterfall and faced the Iron Mantis as it raised its blades.
"Ha… so what if I get hurt?"
"So what if it's not perfect?"
"If I want to win, these are things I must endure…"
—Whoosh.
A wind blade flew toward her.
This time, Frieren generated only five defensive runes.
—Slash!
A shallow cut grazed her arm—unexpected, yet anticipated.
"…I probably should've added two more. Then again—let's try once more!"
---
At that very moment, in the café—
Elias and Flamme, seated together in quiet leisure, both lifted their heads toward the window.
"You felt that?"
"Mm."
"Robin's succeeded."
"Frieren too…"
Flamme nodded in approval.
"She took a minor injury, but her mana is far more restrained now."
Elias stood.
"Well then. The final duel can finally begin. Though now that both have broken through… it might be rather dull."
"At least our objective has been achieved, hasn't it, Elias?"
---
Just as Elias predicted—
The battle between Frieren and Robin became a precise exchange of attack and defense.
Blow met counter.
Strike met barrier.
Dozens of exchanges later, Frieren's mana remained steady, and Robin's stamina did not falter.
Exactly the outcome Elias and Flamme had hoped for.
When they finally stopped, the two opponents met each other's gaze—
—and shared a quiet, mutual smile.
What they didn't realize…
Was that this, too, had been part of their teachers' design.